Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Juventus general manager Jean-Claude Blanc was positive when speaking of the Juventus season so far even though the last two results left quite a bit to be desired just like the ten point margin from Inter in the championship table:

"Sure we expected a smaller margin. We began playing the last matches with the intention of cutting down on the margin. We, however, have our feet firmly planted on the ground and therefore we will play till the end and see where that lands us. I am not disappointed. The season is long and it is acceptable to have a bad moment. The championship is long and we will play all the matches giving the maximum and doing our best till the very end. There are still seven matches left and we will give everything till the very end".

Asked whether the elimination from the Champions League left its aftermath on the league, the Juventus general manager answered:

"Surely, the elimination from the Champions League was a disappointment and seeing Chelsea going ahead gives us more to cry about but we still have the Coppa Italia and we will play all the matches from the first till the last minute. All remaining matches are important and therefore we will try to show that we can do well".

Recently much of the media has been speculating on Ranieri’s future as Juventus coach:

"Claudio Ranieri will be our coach next year notwithstanding any results. I confirm Ranieri as coach at least till next season. We have a project based on technical stability. The dinner with Lippi? We have many international players and it is only right to speak to the international coach".

The team has received much criticism recently but Mr. Blanc had this to say:

"The team is second in the Serie A and we beat Real Madrid twice. It is the same team. The players are champions and we will continue to show that our team is great. The players are concentrated and are conscious of the fact that there are another 6 matches apart from the one against Inter. We look ahead and won’t look back. It is the only way to work well. There will be time for decisions at the end of the season. We are a club that moves. Sometimes you may even make mistakes but we look ahead".

Mr Blanc refused to speak of the transfer market at this point in time, but added:

"I think every transfer market is an occasion to shuffle the cards. We must not look at other teams but see what we want. We are currently proceeding according to our objectives. We will keep our feet on the ground. We have a plan which we decided on 24 months ago to make the team progress year after year. We will go on according to the program established. Nedved? Juve is always open to its champions and we will offer Nedved the opportunity to work within the club after his retirement. It is not an easy job and if he is interested will show him the spirit shown on the field can be applied elsewhere".

Returning to the controversial match against Genoa:

"It is a normal rule that when the referee whistles the play stops but Genoa played better then us and it is useless to go back on the refereeing".

The Abruzzo tragedy struck everybody hard:

"Juve already showed Lega Calcio that it will be part of the contribution as part of the holistic framework of the football world. We will bring forward an aid project to help the current situation immediately but also in the time to come".